1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a soil sampling device and more particularly to a soil sampling device which is mounted on a vehicle and which is adapted to remove and collect sample cores from agricultural fields so that the farmer will know whether he needs to apply certain nutrients to the soil.
2. Description of the Related Art
Soil sampling devices or soil probes are used to collect samples from agricultural fields so that the farmer will know whether he needs to apply certain nutrients to the soil. In the early days, the soil probes were hand-driven into the soil with a core of soil being collected in the interior of the probe. Obviously, such manual probes were labor intensive and were difficult to insert in the ground. In later years, soil probes have been mounted on the front or rear ends of a truck or the like and utilize hydraulic cylinders to drive the probes into the ground. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,541.
In certain of the prior art devices, it was necessary to manually remove the core of soil from the interior of the probe after the probe had been inserted into the ground and pulled therefrom. In certain other of the prior art devices, the samples had to be manually collected or dumped into a collection container. Further, in other prior art devices, it was necessary to manually clear the opening extending through the nose of the probe, since the soil being collected tended to collect or become clogged within that opening.
Further, many of the prior art machines or devices do not have sufficient power to penetrate hard soil and also lack the force necessary to pull the probe from xe2x80x9cstickyxe2x80x9d soil. As stated, many units on the market require the sampling tube or probe to be removed from the machine and inverted with the core of soil being manually forced from the tube by means of a rod or wire. To the best of applicants"" knowledge, no known machine exists that can pull a surface sample and a deep sample at the same time with one probe and maintain those samples in a segregated condition. The existing equipment either requires two trips across a field at two different depth settings, or samples would have to be taken by hand.
With ever-increasing government regulations, farmers are being forced to sample deeper into the soil to control fertilizer leaching due to over-application of nitrogen or the like. However, it is not economically feasible to sample the deeper depths for the macro and micronutrients due to their limited availability to the growing plants at that depth. Hence the need for a machine that can overcome the limitations set forth above.
Yet another disadvantage of the prior art machines is that the soil probes thereof are not uniformly driven into the soil due to irregular terrain. For example, if the soil probe of the prior art machine is designed to penetrate the ground 24 inches, that depth will vary greatly due to the fact that if the probe is mounted on the rear of a vehicle and the vehicle is positioned on an uphill slope, the probe depth will be different than if the vehicle is positioned on a downhill slope. Thus, if the prior art machine is designed to insert the soil probe 24 inches into the ground, as described above, if the vehicle having the soil probe mounted thereon is on an uphill slope, the soil probe may be inserted into the ground greater than 24 inches. Conversely, if the prior art machine is designed to insert the probe 24 inches into the ground and the vehicle having the probe mounted thereon is on a downhill slope, the probe may not go into the ground the complete 24 inches.
The soil sampling device of this invention is mounted on a wheeled vehicle such as a truck, etc. The soil sampling device of this invention comprises a frame means secured to the vehicle having an elongated mast, having upper and lower ends, pivotally mounted on the frame means about a horizontal axis with the mast being pivotally movable between an upright position and a substantially horizontally disposed position. An elongated, hollow soil probe, having first and second ends, is longitudinally movably mounted on the mast and is movable from an upper retracted position to a lower soil penetrating position when the mast is in its upright position. The soil probe includes a conical-shaped soil-engaging nose portion at its first end and a cylindrical body portion extending therefrom towards the second end thereof. The cylindrical body portion includes first and second semi-cylindrical body members which are pivotally secured together, between open and closed positions, to enable a soil sample therein to be dumped therefrom when in the open position. An elongated soil sample collection receptacle is positioned beneath the cylindrical body portion when the probe is in its retracted position and the mast is in its horizontally disposed position.
The soil probe is driven into the ground with the soil sample being collected therein. After the soil probe has been inserted into the ground to collect the sample, the soil probe is moved upwardly to its upper position with respect to the mast and the mast is then pivotally moved to its substantially horizontally disposed position. Means is provided for automatically opening the cylindrical body portion so that the sample therein is dumped into the soil sample collection receptacle therebelow. The collection sample includes an upstanding wall portion which divides the sample being dumped thereinto so that a surface sample is segregated from a deeper sample. Means is also provided for automatically inserting a rod-like device through the conical-shaped nose portion of the probe to clear the nose portion of soil. The exterior surface of the conical-shaped nose portion has a plurality of longitudinally extending and protruding ribs provided thereon which help to fracture hard soil making penetration easier and which provides an air gap along the sides of the probe to break the suction which sometimes makes probe retraction difficult. The soil sampling device of this invention also includes a foot plate portion which contacts the soil surface to indicate the true position of the soil surface by means of a micro-switch mounted on a guide.
A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved soil sampling probe.
A further object of the invention is to provide a soil sampling probe having a nose cone provided thereon having ribs on the exterior surface thereof which help to fracture hard soil making penetration easier and which provides an air gap along the sides of the probe to break suction which sometimes makes probe retraction difficult.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a soil sampling probe including means for indicating the true position of the soil surface.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a soil sampling probe which allows for two segregated samples from the same probe cycle without the need for machine resetting.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine including a soil sampling probe which can pull a surface sample and a deep sample at the same time with one probe while maintaining the surface sample and deep sample in a segregated condition.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a soil probe machine having sufficient power to penetrate hard soil and sufficient power to pull the probe from sticky soil.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a device including means for automatically dumping the soil sample from the probe into a soil sample collection receptacle positioned therebelow.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a soil sampling probe which collects samples at a much higher rate than prior art devices and which is easy to operate.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.